I Am Going to Turn into Peter: Glitching Human-Robot Interactions

This chapter examines human-robot interactions (HRI) through “malfunctioning” humanoids in performance events. Within the study of interrelations between robotic/AI technologies and performance, I respond to cultural depictions of androids and AI in the West, which often conflate science and fiction, portraying robots as either our servants or forthcoming threats and presenting them as more advanced or humanlike than they are. Such representations shape both technical aspirations and public acceptance, reinforcing narrow sociotechnical imaginaries and obscuring the material practices of AI development. These depictions perpetuate exaggerated claims about robots replacing or surpassing humans, distracting from these technologies’ ethical, social, and political implications. Moving from these limited interpretations of mere admiration, fear, or awe, I explore the creative potential in the robot’s incapability. By studying the performance of faulty automation, this chapter highlights its capacity to challenge myths surrounding robots and AI. I focus on glitches in Rimini Protokoll’s Remote X (2013–) and Uncanny Valley (2018–). Emphasising the generative potential of these glitches, these deliberate designs of imperfections can facilitate less fixed views of machines, troubling some of the underlying assumptions that drive robotic development and design. Thus, the chapter proposes how tampering with anthropomorphism in robotic performance challenges more airbrushed portrayals and can alter HRI, fostering alternative understandings of technological projects.